Improvement in wagon-brakes



Tl T; WEIR Wagon-Brake.

Patented Sept. 11, 1866 EN. WASHINGTO THOMAS T. VVIER, OF GALLATIN,MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN WAGON-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,0 14, datedSeptember l1, 1866. u

To all Iwhom 'it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS T. VVIER, ofGallatin, Daviess county, State of Missouri, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Tagen-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a top view of the running part of awagon with my improvement attached. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection of the same, taken through the line xx, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is adetail view of a portion of the rod showing thejoint.

Similar let-ters of' reference indicate like parts.

My invention has for its object to furnish an improved self-actingwagon-brake; and it consists, first, in the combination, with theneck-yoke, tongue, forward bolster, and brakebar, of a rod jointed intwo places to accommodate it to the upward and downward movementot' thetongue and to theright and left horizontal movement of the forwardwheels in turning 5 second, in the combination of an iron guidebracewith the brake-bar and with the rear axle and bolster; third, in thecombination of a lever and rack wit-h the brake-rod and with the tongueof the wagon, the whole-being constructed and arranged as hereinaftermore fully described.

A are the rear, and B the forward, wheels of the wagon. C is the rear,and D the forward, axle. E is the rear, and F the forward, bolster. G isthe rear, and H the forward, hounds. I is the reach, J the tongue, and Kthe neck-yoke.

About the construction of all these parts there is nothing new.

To the rear side of the neck-yoke K is attached a staple, L, to whichthe forward end of the rod M is pivoted. This rod M passes back lalon gthe upper side of the tongue J, and just above the pin N, that connectsthe rear end of the tongue J to the forward hounds, II, there is formedon it a hinge or equivalent, as shown in Fig. 3. By this arrangement therod is enabled to accommodate itself to the upward and downward movementof the tongue J, and at the same time maintain a constant pressure uponthe brake. Just in front of the forward bolster, F, the rod M is dividedinto two branches, which pass one on each side of the king-bolt, and theends of which are slotted, as shown in Fig. l. Through these slots passscrews or bolts connecting the parts m2 of the rod M to the part mi. Bythis arrangement the rod M is able to accommodate itself to the positionof the ruiming part of the wagon when turning, and at thesame timemaintain a constant pressure upon the brake. The rear end of the rod Mis firmly secured to the central part of the curved brace O, the ends ofwhich are attached to the brakebar P, as shown in Fig. l. R are therubbers, which are attached to the brake-bar l) by being secured indovetailed slots, as shown in Fig. Il, or by being bolted fast to thesaid bar P. The bar P is secured in place by the keeper or strap S,attached to the said bar, and passing around the reach I so loosely thatthe bar P may slide freely back and forth. The brake-bar P is stillfurther secured in place by the guide-brace T, the middlcpart of whichis attached to the rear bolster, E, as shown in Fig. l. It is thencurved forward, bent down around the ends of the brake-bar P, and itsends are secured to the rear axle, O, as shown in Fig. 2. This brace Tnot only supports and guides the ends of the brake-bar P as it movesforward and backward, but italso materially strengthens the rear part ofthe running-gear of the wagon.

U is a lever pivoted to a support, V, which support is branched, onebranch passing down on each side of the rod M, the lower ends of saidbranches being pivoted to the tongue J,

as shown. The forward end of the lever U is also branched, one end ofeach branch passing down on each side of the rod M, where they areconnected by a short bar, which fits into the teeth ot' the rack IV,which is attached to the upper side of the tongue J. 'm4 are two shortcross-bars attached to the rod M, one on each side of the support V, asshown in Fig. 2. The forward end of the lever U rests upon the rack XV,and when the brake is pushed back against the wheels it drops into theteeth of said rack and holds the brake to its place nntil the said leveris released, which may be done by drawing1 down the rear end of the lever U by means of a rope attached to the said upper end of the lever andextending` back within reach of the driver. This is the primaryobject ofthe lever; but it also enables the brake to be operated by hand, whichis the effect produced by drawing back the lever U so as to force thesupport V against the rear cross-bar, m4.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination,with the neck-yoke K, tongue J, forward bolster, F, and brake-bar P, ofa rod, M, jointed in 'two places to accommodate it to the movements ofthe tongue and THOMAS T. WIER.

AWitnesses:

BEN. H. STEAN, JOSEPH H. MCGEE.

